WAYS OF LEARNING 

Playing Games

Remember hours spent hiding or seeking ... endless laughter and excitement spent chasing others in tag ... the intense concentration of clapping games? Sounds fun doesn’t it, but not really beneficial. Or is it?

The backbone of experiential education is "learning by doing" and what better way than to have fun? In adventure-based learning, games and team initiatives are used for problem- solving and learning. Each game focuses on different issues. Getting one’s group untangled from a human knot, for example, involves teamwork, leadership, communication and much laughter. The fun and challenge inherent in this encourages participation, even from the most reticent, and the relaxed atmosphere keeps anxiety levels low, convincing people to be open and receptive.

A sense of cohesive group identity is also created in which people feel safe to challenge themselves, learn, stretch their boundaries and grow, without the risk in real life of making errors, with possibly dire consequences.

The outcome of a particular game depends on the entire group, how its members learn or fail to learn, to co-operate, co-create, trust, risk, innovate, select leaders, make choices, draw on the strengths of others, build on prior activities, etc., and this determines the level of success achieved in reaching goals. Through skillful facilitation and debriefing, participants are invited to acknowledge successes and mistakes, to analyse the inter-relationship between themselves and the group, to determine what constitutes effective personal, inter-personal and leadership skills, and to transfer these insights to situations at home or the workplace.

The old Chinese proverb says 

"I hear and I forget, 
I see and I remember, 
I do and I know". 

Learning by direct personal experience has a far greater impact on an individual than being advised on the basis of someone else’s experience ... and can be fun at the same time!

Educo Africa Newsletter #5, Spring 2000

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CYC-NET members have contributed the following additional ideas:

• For a catalog of games, contact Childswork/Childsplay, 135 Dupont Street, P.O. Box 760, Plainview, NY 11803-0760. Or call 1-800-962-1141, fax 1-800-262-1886. Web at: www.childswork.com — Jerry Beker
• Two books by Alanna Jones, CTRS 
1. 104 Activities that Build: Self Esteem, Team Work, Communication, Anger Management, Self Discovery, Coping Skills.
2. The Wrecking Yard of Games and Activities.
The books cost $24.00 (U.S.) and are published by Idyll Arbor, Inc., but I have been successful with directly ordering both books directly from the author via e-mail at recroom@worldnet.att.net. — Andrew Buntin
• See "Activities for Adolescents in Therapy" by Susan Dennison, Charles Thomas, 1988. The activities are various (not particularly games) and for a group therapy context. — Karen VanderVen
• A good place to start is http://www.youthwork.com/activitiessites.html There are activities along with links on that page. — Brandis Corin

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